This invention relates, in general, to computing environments that support pageable guests, and more particularly, to facilitating processing within such environments.
In computing environments that support pageable guests, processing is often complicated by multiple layers of resource management. One area of processing that has realized such complications is in the area of memory management. To manage memory in such an environment, it is common for both the pageable guests and their associated hosts to manage their respective memories causing redundancy that results in performance degradation.
As an example, in an environment in which a host implements hundreds to thousands of pageable guests, the host normally over-commits memory. Moreover, a paging operating system running in each guest may aggressively consume and also over-commit its memory. This over-commitment causes the guests' memory footprints to grow to such an extent that the host experiences excessively high paging rates. The overhead consumed by the host and guests managing their respective memories may result in severe guest performance degradation.
Thus, a need exists for a capability that facilitates processing within computing environments that support pageable guests. In one particular example, a need exists for a capability that facilitates more efficient memory management in those environments supporting pageable guests.